La Serna nearly let nonleague victory get away

One minute and one second, to be exact. Just ask La Serna High football coach Margarito Beltran, who saw three consecutive special teams blunders Thursday night nearly cost his team a nonleague victory over visiting Westlake. Only a late-game drive engineered by quarterback Frankie Palmer and a fourth-down pass interference penalty allowed the Lancers to get in position for Alex Vasquez’s game-winning field goal and a 38-35 victory.

“We did everything in our power to give that game away,” Beltran said Friday, “but we came through at the end and that’s the most important part.”

La Serna (3-1) appeared to have the game well in hand midway through the fourth quarter with a 35-14 lead. Palmer had thrown two touchdown passes and ran for another, and Kevin Ramos and Enrique Pacheco each had a rushing touchdown as well.

Momentum switched, however, when Westlake’s Andre Baccellia blocked a punt, which was returned 35 yards for a touchdown by Lexi Isham with 5:51 left on the clock. On the ensuing kickoff, the Warriors (2-2) recovered an onside kick at midfield and scored three plays later (4:55) on a 5-yard pass from Malik Henry to Nick Rodriguez.

Westlake kicked deep following that score, but La Serna’s return team allowed the ball to hit the ground and it was recovered by Trenton Padilla at the Lancers’ 6. On the next play, Henry found Baccellia for the tying score at 4:50, leaving La Serna’s fans and sideline stunned while the Warriors and their faithful celebrated.

“We made some big mistakes and they took advantage,” Beltran said. “Fortunately, we outplayed them for the first 3 1/2 quarters.”

La Serna’s final drive began at its 16 with 4:45 left, and Palmer broke off runs of 18 and 19 yards on consecutive plays to move the ball into Westlake territory. But the drive soon stalled and the Lancers faced fourth-and-6 from the 32 with less than two minutes left.

On fourth down, Palmer looked for Matt Rosales on a short slant route but the ball fell incomplete, and for a moment it looked as if the Warriors had regained possession.

An official, however, called Westlake cornerback Justin Fabiculanan for pass interference that extended the drive. That infuriated the Westlake contingent, and a subsequent personal foul was called on the Warriors as well, moving the ball inside the 10.

La Serna ran two running plays to set up a field goal and Beltran called his final timeout with less than five seconds left. That brought out Vasquez, who calmly booted the game-winning 21-yard field goal.

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“It’s part of the game,” Beltran said of the penalty. “Sometimes they go your way and sometimes they don’t, but that’s not what won or lost the game.

“It never comes down to one play.”

Palmer finished with 113 rushing yards and 162 through the air, and was his usual impressive self keeping plays alive with his athleticism and creativity. Bryce Oliver (62) and Ramos (56) added tough rushing yards and Rosales caught five passes for 74 yards. Luis Camacho and D’Andre Sanchez each caught a scoring pass.